You could be a refund from Ford

THOUSANDS of the United States of America.

The possible deadly fault meant some unsuspecting drivers suffered from smoke and fires bellowing out of their car.

Ford; Newspress

Ford told Sun Motors that 44,682 Ecoboost models were affected by a coolant hose fault that could lead to cracking engine and leaking coolant. This in turn has overheating and fires in some cases.

An estimated 1,787 cars on UK roads are still not repaired, according to the spokesperson.

The car maker first became aware of the problem in 2012 when fires broke out in US-based motors, but a recap was not issued in the UK until January this year.

An Inside Out Investigating Airing Tonight on BBC One at 19:30, details of the traumatic stories by faulty Ford owners.

Ford; Newspress

BBC Inside Out

Gill Cronshaw, a Ford Focus owner from Altrincham, said: "It was the most frightening experience of my life because you feel completely powerless.

"There were no warning lights, there was no indication.

"The pipe had a very clear split, there was coolant stains all inside the bonnet, so it was not wear and tear.

"It needed a new engine, at a cost of £ 5,500 which obviously I was absolutely horrified at it had been MOT'd and serviced it was in immaculate condition."

Clare Robson, a Grand C-MAX owner from Lowestoft, had arranged for the fault to be repaired after being notified by Ford, but an engine fire ignited before it went into the garage.

She said: "I noticed that smoke [was] actually coming from under my hat. I started thinking that I need to get to safety so I left the dual carriageway at the slip road.

Clare added: "I was terrified, there were people around me, there were children, they were children, they were children, they were children.

"I saw the first flame and I thought, I need to get out of the car now."

PA: Press Association Images

Chris Walker, an engine expert from Rochdale, explained: "The cylinder head of an engine – what's in your top half of your engine – seems to be cracking.

"We 've gotten to a few things now that we' re in the same place.

"If it loses all its coolant, the engine will overheat and the engine will eventually fail."

Ford said in a statement: "In March 2015, Ford Focus 1.0-liter petrol owners have been notified of a service action caused by the coolant hose potentially failing at high temperatures on cars built between October 2011 and October 2013.

"As a result of the Field Service Action (FSA), Ford has reworked 96 per cent of affected cars.

"Our website has had the opportunity to encourage outstanding owners who have experienced an issue to get in touch.

"Ford has already made substantial contributions towards the cost of 1.0-liter repairs, but ongoing discussions with customers show that Ford needs to go further.

"With any future cases, we will contribute 100 per cent of the cost of repair to a Ford dealer.

In addition, we will re-examine previous cases to ensure that this policy of 100 per cent contribution to the repair cost is consistently applied.

"UK owners should contact Ford by emailing [email protected] to pick up time to re-examine previous cases thoroughly, but we will respond to all correspondence.

This Directive is not intended as a safety issue by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, because they are provided for the purpose of overheating and other systems, such as braking and steering, are unaffected – vehicle to a safe stop. "

Since 2011, over 600,000 1.0-liter EcoBoost engines have been sold in the UK – around 30 per cent of them are Focus models.